How Did the Pharisees Learn About Jesus’ Prophecy of His Resurrection on the Third Day?

Introduction

As I was reading Matthew 27:63, where the Pharisees approached Pilate, asking him to secure Jesus’ tomb because they remembered His prophecy about rising from the dead after three days, I began to wonder how they knew about this specific detail. Jesus had often spoken in parables and metaphors, including a notable one where He spoke of destroying the temple and raising it up again in three days—a statement they misunderstood at the time, thinking He was referring to the physical temple in Jerusalem. So, how did they eventually come to recognize that Jesus was speaking about His resurrection? This leads us to the question: How did the Pharisees know that Jesus said He was going to resurrect after three days?

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TL;DR Summary

Who are the Pharisees?
The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group deeply concerned with upholding the law. They were often in opposition to Jesus due to His teachings and growing influence. They played a key role in the events leading up to His crucifixion and later sought to ensure that His tomb was secured, fearing a potential resurrection claim.

What did the Pharisees do after Jesus’ death?
After Jesus’ crucifixion, the Pharisees approached Pilate and requested that the tomb be secured, citing Jesus’ prophecy of rising after three days. They expressed concern that the disciples might attempt to steal Jesus’ body and claim He had risen, which would cause more unrest.

Where did the Pharisees hear about the three-day prophecy?
Although Jesus frequently used parables and metaphors, He made multiple references to His resurrection both privately with His disciples and publicly in ways that the religious leaders could overhear or interpret, even if they didn’t fully understand. They may have pieced together this message over time or overheard Him explicitly speaking of it.

When did the Pharisees recognize the significance of this prophecy?
It’s likely that the Pharisees came to understand the significance of Jesus’ words after His death, realizing the impact of His statement about rising after three days. This likely prompted their actions of securing the tomb to prevent any potential fulfillment or manipulation of His prophecy.

Why did the Pharisees want to secure the tomb?
They feared that Jesus’ disciples might steal His body and claim He had risen, which would further validate Jesus’ claims and disrupt the religious order. Securing the tomb was a way to prevent any such claims from gaining traction.

How did the Pharisees learn about Jesus’ prediction?
The Pharisees likely pieced together Jesus’ various statements about rising on the third day from His public ministry. Despite their previous misunderstanding of His metaphor regarding the temple, the religious leaders knew Jesus had said something about three days, and they wanted to take precautions.

Narrative Context

The Pharisees had been closely monitoring Jesus throughout His ministry, seeking to catch Him in falsehoods and discredit His teachings. Despite their opposition, they were keenly aware of the things He said, even if they didn’t fully understand them. One key instance is found in John 2:19, where Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” While the religious leaders assumed He was speaking of the physical temple, John clarifies that Jesus was referring to His body, predicting His resurrection.

Though the Pharisees didn’t grasp the full meaning at the time, Jesus’ statement was public, and they likely remembered it, especially in the tense days following His crucifixion. By the time of His death, they seemed to have connected the metaphor to His prediction of rising after three days. This explains their request to Pilate in Matthew 27:63-64 to secure the tomb to prevent His disciples from making claims that He had risen.

The Pharisees’ knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection prophecy came from their close observation of His ministry and their eventual realization that Jesus’ words about the temple had deeper meaning. They sought to suppress any possibility of a resurrection narrative taking hold by asking for a guard at the tomb.

Scriptural Foundations

Several scriptures provide insights into how the Pharisees could have known about Jesus’ prediction of His resurrection:

• Matthew 12:39-40: “But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’”
  Jesus directly refers to His resurrection here, speaking of the “sign of Jonah,” where He compares His own death and resurrection to Jonah’s three days in the fish.
• Matthew 27:63-64: “They said, ‘Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has risen from the dead.”’”
  This passage shows that the Pharisees remembered Jesus speaking about His resurrection after three days. Their request to secure the tomb reveals their concern that His followers might try to fulfill this prophecy artificially by stealing His body.
• John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews therefore said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?’ But he spoke of the temple of his body.”
  This metaphor was misunderstood by the Pharisees at the time, but in hindsight, they would have seen it as a reference to Jesus’ resurrection.

Perspectives from Others

Biblical scholars agree that while the Pharisees may not have fully understood Jesus’ teachings during His ministry, they were attentive enough to recognize the significance of His statement about rising after three days. Some scholars suggest that the Pharisees’ request to Pilate to secure the tomb is evidence that they were more aware of Jesus’ claims than they let on publicly.

Other interpretations emphasize that the Pharisees were so intent on preventing any appearance of Jesus fulfilling prophecy that they sought to eliminate any possible signs of resurrection, including securing the tomb and placing guards to prevent theft of the body.

Identifying Misunderstandings

One common misconception is that the Pharisees were completely unaware of Jesus’ teachings about His resurrection. While they misunderstood or dismissed much of His ministry, they were well aware of His claims to rise after three days. Another misunderstanding is that they expected Jesus to fulfill this prophecy. In reality, their actions were driven by fear that His disciples would fake a resurrection, rather than any belief in its actual occurrence.

Relevance and Application for You

Understanding how the Pharisees came to know about Jesus’ resurrection prophecy is a reminder of how even Jesus’ opponents were aware of the significance of His claims. Their fear of His influence and the power of His resurrection message should remind believers today of the profound impact of Jesus’ words and the lengths to which some would go to suppress the truth. In today’s world, believers must be prepared to defend the truth of the resurrection with clarity and conviction, recognizing that even Jesus’ enemies could not deny the power of His claims.

Encouragement and Conclusion

The Pharisees’ actions, though driven by fear and disbelief, serve to highlight the undeniable power of Jesus’ words. Even His enemies recognized the significance of His claim to rise from the dead, prompting them to take extreme measures to prevent what they thought was a potential deception. For believers, this is a powerful reminder of the importance of Jesus’ resurrection in our faith and the lengths to which the world may go to suppress the truth. But just as the Pharisees couldn’t stop the resurrection, neither can the world today silence the victory of Christ over death. Let this truth encourage you to stand firm in your faith, knowing that Jesus has risen, just as He said.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the resurrection of Jesus after three days fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 16:10? This Psalm says, “For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see decay.” The Pharisees attempt to stop any resurrection narrative only highlighted God’s sovereignty in fulfilling His plans, as Jesus’ body never experienced decay during those three days.